HEALING
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Brilliant-- A day that is less than zero Icicles fat as legs of deer Hang in a row from the porch roof A hand without a mitten Grabs and breaks one off-- A brandished javelin Made of sheer Stolen light To which the palm sticks As the shock of cold Instantly shoots through the arm To the heart-- I need a language like that, A recognizable enemy, a clarity-- I do my exercises faithfully, My other arm lifts, I apply vitamin E, White udder cream To the howl I make vow after vow. |
From The Crack in Everything (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996)
© 1996, Alicia Ostriker
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